Conductor compositions which are applied to and fired on dielectric substrates (glass, glass-ceramic, and ceramic) usually comprise finely divided inorganic powders (e.g., metal particles and binder particles) and are commonly applied to substrates using so-called "thick film" techniques, as a dispersion of these inorganic powders in an inert liquid medium or vehicle. Upon firing or sintering of the film, the metallic component of the composition provides the functional (conductive) utility, while the inorganic binder (e.g., glass, crystalline oxides such as Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3, etc.) bonds the metal particles to one another and to the substrate. Thick film techniques are contrasted with thin film techniques which involve deposition of particles by evaporation or sputtering. Thick film techniques are discussed in Handbook of Materials and Processes for Electronics, C. A. Harper, Editor, McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1970, Chapter 12.
The most commonly used conductor compositions employ noble metals, especially gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and their mixtures and alloys, since their relatively inert characters permits firing in air. Attempts at using dispersions of less expensive non-noble metals have often been confined to specialized uses or have required the great practical inconvenience and expense of firing in nonoxidizing atmospheres (nitrogen, nitrogen/hydrogen, hydrogen, argon, etc.)
Conductor compositions are used in the microcircuit industry to "terminate" resistor patterns, typically by firing the conductor pattern on a substrate and then printing resistor patterns over part of the conductor pattern and firing.